If you’re aware of the existence of both streaming services, then chances are you’ve briefly confused the two at some point in the past, and clarity only came when you realized that neon orange is, like, totally different from neon light green. Obviously Spotify and SoundCloud share more than a few additional similarities than just being under the same encompassing business genre, and now news is now coming out that the two unofficial relatives are in serious talks to merge — and by merge, I mean Spotify acquiring SoundCloud, because the former is more popular, makes more money, and was annually crowned homecoming king for the duration of its high school stay. Somehow, that popularity hasn’t yet led to a sustainable business model though, so the hope is arguably that an adjoined SoundCloud will help out financially.
A report from the Financial Times elaborates by saying that Spotify execs had considered acquiring SoundCloud at various points in the recent past, but those discussions ultimately collapsed. The pressure this time around comes from the fact that streaming behemoths like Apple Music and an impending one from Amazon have separate businesses on which to fall back, which makes competing with them in the long run nothing short of a Herculean feat. Theories abound that streaming music alone is an inherently unprofitable business venture.
Tried out SoundCloud Go recently? Reviews of the service’s noticeable departure from its founding concept haven’t been great, which may confirm the suspicions that we had at the time of its initial announcement. It was a last ditch effort before…
